Bar des Prés — Restaurant in London

Heard about Cyril Lignac recently relocating to London and opening his Asian fusion restaurant Bar des Pres in Mayfair and decided to give it a try. The food was delicious (if not on the small portion side), the cocktails inventive and tasty, and there was an energetic buzz in nice surroundings. Sadly however, the entire experience was let down by the staff rushing you through every course, throwing dishes at you and pressuring you to order dessert even before you could digest a rich main course. The worst part was that as soon as the bill was paid (we spent more than a few hundred pounds and ordered a lot of food/drink) the manager told us to leave the table as he had “other customers waiting and it was time for us to go”. Maybe it’s because this restaurant management team is from Paris that they don’t understand how it works in London, but after a year of lockdown and wanting to go out and enjoy a top end meal in a relaxed way, being pretty much turfed out the second after you have paid your incredibly expensive bill is the worst way to end what would have been a perfect experience. This restaurant has a lot to learn about earning regular, loyal customers and seems far more focussed on high table turnover than customer satisfaction. Which is such a shame as the place has potential to be really great if they only tried to treat each customer like a King or Queen, not dead to them as soon as they have taken their money. The crowd was OK but it’s very much a “to be seen” crowd of people already. What the restaurant has not worked out yet is that such “to be seen” crowds are incredibly fleeting and quick to move on to “the next best thing” in no time at all. Then you’re left depending on the regulars whom you have sadly already insulted by pressuring them during their entire dinner to order and eat quickly and then leave the table because management had overbooked (which is not the customer’s fault anyway). Sadly I will not be recommending this place to all my friends as there are dozens of better restaurants in London and the area who badly need money and custom more than this. Bonne chance as the French...

This review is specific to the burger lunch set menu currently being offered (summer 2025). I visited on a Friday for lunch and was seated at the counter. This was facing the sushi bar, so did provide some form of viewing entertainment, although the actual kitchen was in the back and out of view. The place definitely gave off Mayfair vibes with its upmarket decor as well as a crowd mainly comprising men on business lunches.

The lunch set menu started with a simple salad which was enjoyable enough albeit something you could make at home without too much difficulty. Things did take a step up from there, the Wagyu smash burger was very nice and I liked that it was cut into four, making it a less messy encounter. The accompanying fries and dip were also very good, and a surprisingly large portion (which I couldn’t finish). The meal concluded with a raspberry eton mess, a light and refreshing end to the meal.

Service was quite friendly and things moved at a good pace, perhaps helped by me being one of the first arrivals for lunch. The bill for my solo lunch came to £99 after enjoying a couple of drinks. The burger set menu itself is priced at £38 (plus service), which seemed very reasonable considering the generous quantity of food, along with the fact you could easily spend that on a single item from their a la carte menu. It did feel like quite a bargain within the context of my swanky surroundings, and that pushes them from a 4 to a 5 star...

I had the pleasure of dining at Bar de Pres recently and was thoroughly impressed by the cuisine. The food could best be described as a "French Nobu" style, where the chef masterfully incorporates the flavors and techniques of Asian cuisine through a refined French lens. Every dish was exquisite—clearly a testament to the culinary skills of the French chef at the helm.

While the food was exceptional, the service was somewhat inconsistent. We had to wait a bit longer than expected for a couple of courses, and our server seemed distracted at times. Nonetheless, the staff was polite and did make efforts to ensure we were comfortable.

The ambiance on the night of our visit was good, albeit not extraordinary. The lighting was just right, and the decor was stylish, but it didn't necessarily leave an indelible impression on me.

Overall, Bar de Pres offers an excellent dining experience for anyone looking to explore a unique blend of French and Asian cuisines. The minor hiccups in service didn't detract too much from the meal, and I would definitely consider returning to try more...